Terry Stotts | Center

Latest News

Recent News

Terry Stotts said that he wants his team to be better on the defensive end this upcoming season.

"We have to get better defensively," Stotts said. "With our roster, I'd like to do a little bit more switching. I'd like to go under ball screens a little bit more." Stotts added that he felt his team was better on the defensive end during the second half of the season, which could be a hint that he intends to use a lot of Al-Farouq Aminu and Moe Harkless at the four-spot. In terms of fantasy hoops, both Aminu and Harkless are betting suited for deep leagues. Aug 31 - 11:03 AM

"Everything was about growth, improvement, getting better throughout the season and being better at the end of the season, and I think we did that individually and collectively," he said. "From a coaching standpoint, that's as pure as it gets; that's what coaching is about. You don't get to experience that very much at the NBA level." Stotts, who finished second behind Steve Kerr in Coach of the Year voting, signed a long-term extension to remain with the Blazers in May. Jun 6 - 9:16 AM

Trail Blazers' GM Neil Olshey said that he's hopeful Portland will be able to land a big name free agent this offseason.

"I think we are becoming more of a destination than in the past because CJ [McCollum] and [Damian Lillard]," said Olshey. "And when you make the final eight and your games are on national television, it makes an impact on free agents, we hope." The Blazers have never really been able to land a marquee player via free agency, but Olshey is hopeful that will finally change this offseason with a Coach of the Year candidate at the helm, and a dynamic backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum. May 18 - 1:44 PM

The Blazers and coach Terry Stotts have reached agreement on a contract extension.

There were some unsubstantiated rumors of Stotts possibly not coming back, but that would have been arguably the biggest surprise of the summer. Even LeBron James said Stotts was the Coach of the Year and he remains one of the best X's and O's coaches out there. While some fantasy owners may dislike his wild rotations, every NBA fan respects Stotts as one of the best. Every Blazers fan and player has to be happy with this move. May 16 - 8:55 PM

Player News

"Everything was about growth, improvement, getting better throughout the season and being better at the end of the season, and I think we did that individually and collectively," he said. "From a coaching standpoint, that's as pure as it gets; that's what coaching is about. You don't get to experience that very much at the NBA level." Stotts, who finished second behind Steve Kerr in Coach of the Year voting, signed a long-term extension to remain with the Blazers in May.

Trail Blazers' GM Neil Olshey said that he's hopeful Portland will be able to land a big name free agent this offseason.

"I think we are becoming more of a destination than in the past because CJ [McCollum] and [Damian Lillard]," said Olshey. "And when you make the final eight and your games are on national television, it makes an impact on free agents, we hope." The Blazers have never really been able to land a marquee player via free agency, but Olshey is hopeful that will finally change this offseason with a Coach of the Year candidate at the helm, and a dynamic backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum.

The Blazers and coach Terry Stotts have reached agreement on a contract extension.

There were some unsubstantiated rumors of Stotts possibly not coming back, but that would have been arguably the biggest surprise of the summer. Even LeBron James said Stotts was the Coach of the Year and he remains one of the best X's and O's coaches out there. While some fantasy owners may dislike his wild rotations, every NBA fan respects Stotts as one of the best. Every Blazers fan and player has to be happy with this move.

This comes in the wake of a previous report, from a Bucks columnist, that Stotts wasn't a "slam dunk" to stay with Portland. Damian Lillard said that Stotts' extension "would mean everything," and the Blazers are coming off an expectation-defying 2015-16 season during which Stotts finished second in Coach of the Year voting, so this offer confirms the likelihood that Stotts will stay put.

Damian Lillard made it clear that he wants the Blazers to extend coach Terry Stotts' contract.

"That would mean everything to me," Lillard said of a possible extension for Stotts. "I haven’t always been a fan of change first of all. You come into a situation like this to have a guy as open as he is. The freedom he allows guys, how comfortable he makes guys. He’s a really good coach and as long as I’m a part of this organization, I would want him to be a part of this organization." The Blazers hold a team option on Stotts for the 2016-17 season, and recent reports have indicated that they will work on a contract extension.

The Portland Trail Blazers are planning to work on extending Terry Stotts' contract.

Portland owns a team option on Stotts for the 2016-17 season, but will work to sign him to a long-term extension after a surprising run to the second round of the playoffs. After finishing second in the NBA's coach of the year voting, look for the Blazers to lock up Stotts as soon as possible.

Blazers head coach Terry Stotts will consider changing up his lineup for Game 4 on Monday.

"Right now it’s whatever group I think is going to work," Stotts said. "Obviously Ed [Davis] playing with Draymond at 5 is something we’ll consider. I thought Mason [Plumlee] was good with Bogut, Speights or Ezeli out there. It’s match-up driven." Davis, Gerald Henderson and Allen Crabbe have all played excellent off the bench, so Stotts could move one or two of them into the first unit due to the injury to Moe Harkless (hip) and the struggles of Mason Plumlee.

"Very disappointed with the defensive effort and focus in the first half," Stotts said. "I didn’t think we gave it as much effort as we needed to be,’’ Stotts added. "I didn’t think we were as focused mentally as we needed to be on individuals and I thought those two things combined created a downward spiral." The Blazers are very much in the midst of a rebuild.

Blazers head coach Terry Stotts will not reveal who will start at power forward on Friday vs. the Grizzlies.

Meyers Leonard (shoulder) is out and his timetable is unclear, but Stotts expects to use a committee approach to absorb his minutes. "It’ll be by committee," Stotts said. "The 25 minutes or so Meyers is averaging will be divvied up among the other bigs. It’ll be a challenge because Memphis plays so much through the post with Gasol and Randolph, so it’ll be a challenge, but we’ll have to find a way." Moe Harkless, Ed David and Noah Vonleh will all be in the mix for more minutes in the short term, but this report makes it sound like there won't be a clear winner in terms of fantasy production. Expect Al-Farouq Aminu to play some four as well.

Coach Terry Stotts said the Blazers will "evolve" on offense this season.

He lost four of his starters, so things are going to be different. The Blazers were second in post-up scoring, fifth with roll-man scoring, and fourth in spot-up shooting last year. Obviously the loss of LaMarcus Aldridge is going to hurt them everywhere. Besides Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, there are a lot of question marks.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts would like to play "a little more uptempo" next season, but conceded that his team needs to improve their 3-point shooting.

"Our bigs can run, we’re probably a more athletic team, top to bottom, than we have been in the past," Stotts said. "Certainly getting out in transition, getting easy baskets is going to be important." Damian Lillard should be the primary beneficiary of a faster pace, but it also helps the prospects of Al-Farouq Aminu, Mason Plumlee, Meyers Leonard, Ed Davis, Gerald Henderson and everyone else who earns substantial playing time.

Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said that the team will miss LaMarcus Aldridge, but he added that they are ready to move forward without him.

"I knew it was going to be a close decision — it wasn’t an easy decision for him and it came down to the last minute," Stotts said. "I certainly respect his decision and it was a difficult one. And personally I thanked him for the three years I was here with him. He earned the right to be a free agent and we’re certainly going to miss him. But we move on." The Blazers deserve a lot of credit for adding some interesting young pieces in Noah Vonleh, Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Moe Harkless and Mason Plumlee, and they were also able to re-sign Damian Lillard for five more years. The Blazers may not be a playoff team next season, but they will certainly be an exciting team to watch.

Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey confirmed that Terry Stotts will return as the team's head coach in 2016-17.

"[Stotts] has just won 54 and 51 games [the past two regular seasons], and [the coaching staff] did a great job developing our guys," Olshey said, when asked about the possibility of replacing Stotts. "It wouldn't even cross my mind. The coaches did an outstanding job this season." The team extended Stotts' deal in Jan. 2015 and he'll take the reins again no matter what the Blazers' roster looks like after a momentous offseason.

The Trail Blazers have signed current GM Neil Olshey to a multi-year contract extension.

"Our team has made great strides under Neil’s leadership, and I am excited to extend his contract," said Blazers' owner Paul Allen. "Neil has done an outstanding job as General Manager by quickly rebuilding our team into a playoff contender. The franchise is clearly on the upswing, and I hope to see further improvements in the years to come."

Depth Charts

His ankle is still swollen and his pre-game workout did not go well. Harkless suffered the injury on Wednesday and didn't play in the final 31 seconds. For tonight, expect to see Allen Crabbe in the starting lineup while Evan Turner gets a bump. Maybe coach Terry Stotts goes with a little Jake Layman to boost the bench, too.

Al-Farouq Aminu played 24 minutes and hit 2-of-9 shots for five points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals on Thursday, before leaving late with a back injury.

Aminu took a very hard fall and landed flat on his lower back. He hobbled to the sideline, but was clearly in pain. The Blazers don't play again until Saturday at Indy, so there's a chance he'll be feeling better by then. But it also wouldn't be surprising to miss a game or two. Watch for updates on his status throughout the weekend. Aminu was just getting back from a calf injury and is still on a minutes limit, so his new injury just adds some fuel to the fire. If Aminu misses time, guys like Moe Harkless (ankle), Ed Davis and Evan Turner all benefit.

Festus Ezeli is seeking a second opinion on his surgically repaired left knee.

Ezeli suffered a setback in his recovery in October, and it doesn't sound like he's any closer to getting back to the court. Ezeli will not travel with the team to Houston or New Orleans, but he's expected to re-join the squad for Sunday's game in Brooklyn, where he'll watch the game from the sidelines. Ezeli is not worth owning in any league.